"AGAIN, AGAIN, AGAIN!" Swimming Again On Saturday Night

Daddy, mommy and I went swimming again tonight!  Sooooo much fun!  I laughed so much and so hard at all the fun stuff we did in the pool!  Hope you all enjoy the videos that mommy and daddy took of our fun evening in the pool, they pretty much explain how much fun the three of us had!  My mommy and daddy are crazy and I love 'em! 

Taking time out of swimming to lay back and relax and just enjoy the pool, the sunshine and life!  What a good life!

It's noodle time! 

Let me see this noodle thing!  Wonder how it works?

I guess you just put your mouth over one end and blow as hard as you can (after you fill the noodle with water)!?!

HAPPY 94th BIRTHDAY GREAT-NAMMO RUESS

Today, Friday, July 16th, 2010, was my Great-Nammo Ruess's 94th Birthday!  We partied hard for her birthday this year!  We went over to her house where Nammo Gardner made Great-Nammo her favorite meal of liver and onions!  Thankfully, Tampaw Gardner grilled steaks for the rest of us!  I, however, for some reason did not get a KC Strip....I got a Ballpark Hot Dog.  Hmmmmm....something just doesn't add up here!  Oh well, the party was fun anyway!  After supper, Great-Nammo opened her cards and gifts and then we had birthday desserts (cak or pie)!  Thanks to Great-Nammo for giving us a reason to "party hardy!"  I love you and hope to celebrate many more birthdays with you!

"We Showed Off, Splashin' A-Round!"

Daddy set our swimming pool up three nights ago and until tonight (Friday, July 16th, 2010) it wasn't warm enough to go for a real swim!  Tonight however, it was awesome....maybe still a little chilly but warm enough to get in anyway, especially since it was sooooooo hot out today!  I think it was over 150 degrees outside.  I bet you could have fried an egg on the sidewalk!  Anyway, mommy daddy and I decided to take a dip and it was awesome.  It was my first "real" swimming experience and as you all know, I've loved anything to do with water for a very long time! 

At first I wasn't too sure about this whole swimming thing but once mommy and daddy got me down in the water and I realized it wasn't as ice cold anymore and that I could touch the bottom, it was FUN!

Daddy and I had a wonderful, giggly time splashing around!  In one of the videos you can even tell that daddy is having fun.  The video starts out with his awesome laugh!  The one that mommy likes...she says it is just him and that's how it use to laugh before he got sick!  I think things are finally getting back to normal at the Gardner house!  :)

Mommy got in on the fun too!  We had a lot of fun pulling around this inflate-a-panda!  I refused to sit in it but I loved pulling it around the pool by the string on the front of it!  That was too funny! 

"Me do it mommy!  Me do it!"  "MOM, I've got his under control!"

Playing in the water was sooooo awesome!  I even laughed when mommy and daddy showed me how to put your face in the water and blow bubbles!  Maybe after a few more swims I will be able to do that too! 

Daddy and I are quite the pair!  We even swam for over 30 minutes tonight!  I hope we get to go again tomorrow!  I'm sure we will....especially with the heat wave that has hit northwestern Kansas. 

Well we've all had quite the day.  Mommy and daddy worked all day, I went to daycare, then we had Great-Grandma Ruess's birthday party to go too and when we got home from that we went for a dip in our pool!  My first real swimming experience!  We swam for a long time and now we are all tuckered out!  I had worked up an appetite from all that exercise in the pool so I had to enjoy some amal cackers (animal crackers) before I could even think about going to sleep!  They were just what I needed.  They hit the spot!  After that, I was sooooo pooped, I almost didn't make it thru my milk and storytime!  But I did!  Now everyone is fast asleep!   Good night all!

Tune in real soon (probably tomorrow night, LOL) for more pictures of The Justin Gardner clan swimming! 

Being Good Really Pays Off

Happy Thursday folks!  Today, Thursday, July 15th, 2010, daddy, mommy and I hit the park for a little early evening fun!  Daddy and momma said they were taking me to the park because I have been so good at my newest daycare, Tiny Tykes!  Miss Jill from Tiny Tykes calls momma sometimes and lets her know some of the cute and funny things I do at daycare and she also tells her how good I am, the other workers tell her how good I am too and they daddy as well!  I have been consistently using my "peas and thanks" for the past three weeks!  So being good must really payoff!  I mean, I got to go the park, just for having manners!  We also went b/c the weather was a little cooler today (the only day it's supposed to be below 95 degrees for awhile)!  :(  That doesn't leave much time for a guy to play outside before it gets too hot!  Oh well, I will take it however I can get it!

Daddy and I getting ready to go down the tube slide!  I go down first (all by myself) and then I turn around and watch my daddy go down the slide!  He is too much!  Such a kid at heart...that's why me and my dad have so much fun together!

So exciting...mommy hardly ever climbs up in the slide with me but tonight she did!  It was FUN!  I went down first and then watched her come down the slide next!  She is silly, just like daddy!

Daddy even went down the slide when I wasn't even up there yet!  LOL!  He cracks me up!

Now it's time for the "BIG BOY SLIDE!"  Whenever my mom takes me to the park by herself, she won't ever take me down the big slide because she says she is scared she might drop me!  I just think she is a super chicken!  Love you mommy!  So tonight, daddy went with us to the park and he always takes me on a few rides on the "big boy slide!"  Here we are climbing the ladder, getting ready for the awesomeness of the BIG BOY SLIDE!  READY..............

SET.........................................

GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE THE PARK!

"Lemme down daddy, lemme down daddy!  I NEED to go play on the playground!"

So much fun at the park, I don't even know where to begin!  So exciting!

Time to go home!  I don't really want to but oh well, there's always tomorrow or the weekend!  But it's supposed to be REALLY HOT all weekend (103 forecasted for Saturday) so we may skip the park and go swimming instead!  That's right, daddy set up our little pool last night and we've gotten in it last night and tonight!  I run around saying "I want to go swimming" and so we all put our suits on and go out to the pool and then once the set my feet in it, I freak out because it is FREAKING COLD!  It was a little warmer tonight but still not warm enough for this little boy!  Mommy and daddy say that by the time Saturday evening rolls around and we've had a few 100 plus degree days the water will feel good, like bath water and I will love it!  WE WILL SEE!!!!!!

First Time For Everything...I'm Growing Up

What a great weekend we had as a family & a few firsts for me too! I sure do love my time with mommy and daddy! I have been asking recently for a pillow, every night at bedtime and every morning when I wake up so Friday night (July 9th, 2010), we loaded up and went to Goodland so I could get my very own pillow! I LOVE IT! And mommy and daddy decided that if I was big enough for my own pillow, then it was time I had "big boy" bed linens! So now I have "Cars" sheet and blanket for my bed too! Awesome, no more of that dumb baby stuff on my bed! YIPPY!!!!!!

Mom and dad rolled out my "bike" (I prefer not to call it a tricycle...those are for babies) this weekend because they think I'm getting big enough to ride it now! Daddy will have to modify it a little bit because my feet don't quite reach the pedal when it is in the down position!

I haven't quite figured out this concept called pedaling yet!

Since I couldn't figure out how to pedal my "bike," mommy decided she would try and show me! I don't know about anyone else, but someone should tell mommy she is too darn big for my "bike!"

On Saturday night (July 10th, 2010), mommy and I had a date night! Mommy took me to see Toy Story 3 at the movie theatre! This was a first for me! Mommy was nervous all day about how I was going to do at the theatre and if I would be able to make it thru an entire movie! She thought we would have to leave early! Boy was she WRONG! I was on my best behavior! Mommy had made plans to meet our friends the Kinzer girls at the movie theatre! I sat still through the movie (only changing laps twice, once to sit on Taylor's lap and once to sit on Miss Sarah's lap) and when I talked, I used my inside voice! I did't get restless or upset once! And mommy brought yummy snacks and juice for me to enjoy while the movie played too! The only downside to this movie business is the movie doesn't start until 8p and it lasted until almost 10p. So I wasn't in bed until almost 11p. That's exhausting when you are use to going to bed by 8:30p or 9p at the latest! Oh well, it was all worth it! The pic of me sitting on mommy and daddy's bed is me right before bed on the night we went to see the movie! As you can tell, I'm pretty out of it! But it was well worth it and I told mommy I wanted to go to the movies again sometime and that I would want to go on another "mommy/son date night with her too!" This made mommy so happy! Boy am I glad that I was on my best behavior at the movie theatre! This must mean that I get to go back!

Hope everyone had a great weekend like I did and stayed nice and cool! It was a hot one here today and it is only supposed to be hotter through next week! UGH! Have a happy, speedy work week and lets get on to next weekend! Good night all!

Happy Independence Day & A Visit From Auntie Ashie

WHAT A BUSY, LONG WEEKEND WE ENJOYED! On Saturday, July 3rd thru July 6th, 2010, mommy had a special visitor.....Auntie Ashley (Ashley Angle)! Auntie Ashie is momma's first college roommate and one of her three best friends from Missouri! Mommy was really happy to see Auntie Ashie and I LOVED having her around! As you can see, we did a lot of chillin' and loungin' and relaxin' while Auntie Ashie was here! We also went to supper with Namma and Tampa Gardner and Great-Namma Ruess one evening while Auntie Ashie was here! Mommy got to enjoy a day of "girl time" shopping and catching up with Ashley, which was really nice for mommy b/c she doesn't get that friend time very often, especially not to have a retail therapy session, LOL! Whatever that is!

Happy Independence Day/Fourth of July everyone! This was the scene around Saint Francis on the evening of the Fourth of July! I, of course, did not get to enjoy these pretty things called fireworks after sunset. Mommy and Daddy made me go to bed....bummer! The adults got to enjoy the show and they said it was awesome! Mommy and daddy had bought some fireworks and so did Auntie Ashie. Mommy and Auntie Ashie watched daddy shoot off all their "after dark" fireworks and they all, also watched all the folks around Saint Francis set off their fireworks! They said it was quite a show....all I know, is that it sounded like a war zone outside my bedroom window for about two hours after the sun went down! Gheesh....it was so loud, but I just decided to ignore it and get some beauty sleep! After all, a guy has to be rested in order to cause mayhem and mischief the next day! Mommy and daddy did let me participate in some of the Fourth of July festivities. Mommy let me help her hold her sparklers some of the time and I watched mommy and daddy set of things like party poppers, tanks, choo-choo trains, helicopters, airplanes, smoke bombs and parachute guys! I also got to throw down some of those snapper thingys! I had a lot of fun listening to the fireworks go bomb and watching them "catch on fire!" I *heart* fire (this fact really scares my mother, wonder why?)!

Auntie Ashie sitting back and enjoying the fireworks display!

I had so much fun with my Auntie Ashie while she was here for a visit! She was awesome and at one point, I was following her around and literally holding on to her back pocket! I couldn't let her get out of my sight, she was too much fun! And she loves kids and we have a lot of things in common, such as: we enjoy the same kind of books ("Guess How Much I Love You), she likes being around the little kids, she likes to sing kiddie songs, etc.!

Auntie Ashie and I were having a great time together having a fun conversation! It's always nice to know someone loves you and is interested in what you are doing and what you want to do next!

Everytime Auntie Ashie was stretched out on the couch, relaxin', I was sure to jump up there and harass her! LOL!

Auntie Ashie and I were playing "peek-a-boo" with a blanket! I'm not sure who started it but mommy says Auntie Ashie probably didn't have a choice whether or not she wanted to play "peek-a-boo!" I say, "Mommy, who doesn't love a great game of covering your face and saying where's Gus and then yanking the blanket down and saying peek-a-boo?" Of course Auntie Ashie wanted to play, there was not reason to even ask!

This is me "getterins" Auntie Ashie! "Getterins" is a game I play with my mommy and daddy too! It's where daddy says "Gus, go getterins mommy!" And that means I am supposed to chase mommy down and tickle her and then she gets me back by chasing me around the house and then getting me down and tickling me! It's such a fun game and I think Auntie Ashie enjoyed it too as you can tell in the picture!

Here Auntie Ashie and I are, riding in mommy's van, watchin' a movie! We were on our way with momma and daddy to go eat "breakfast for supper" with Namma and Tampal Gardner and Great-Namma Ruess and the cafe in Haigler, Nebraska! Great-Namma Ruess treated everyone to supper that night and mommy was very appreciated of Great-Namma for being sweet to her bestest friend Ashie! Mommy loves that Namma, Tampal and Great-Namma love her friend too! It means a lot to my mommy!

This is me wearing my new Saint Louis Cardinals t-shirt that Auntie Ashie brought me all the way from Missouri! What a cool shirt! Mommy really likes it!

On Sunday, July 4th, it was just daddy and I at home for lunch. Mommy and Auntie Ashie went out to The Majestic to have lunch! Boy, do I love strawberries! They are so yummy!

After a busy and long three-day weekend and visit from Auntie Ashie, daddy and I decided to lounge and just kick back for a little while before bedtime! Ahhhh....life is great! (Like father, like son--I sure do adore my daddy)!

Notes from Mommy:

I would like to thank my dear friend Ashley for coming out to visit! It was very awesome to see you and to catch up and just do friend stuff together! I appreciate you taking the time to come see me! I've been very homesick lately and having you here definitely help ease that for me a little bit!

Also, we are planning a family vacation for July 30th thru August 2nd, 2010! We will be leaving for Missouri on the evening of July 29th, just after work and will be heading to the big town of Shelbyville, Missouri (my hometown) to see Grandma and Grandpa Chinn and the rest of my family! It has been far too long since we have been to their house, together, as a family! That's also when the annual Old Settlers Reunion will be held so I'm super excited to take Gus to ride the rides and just to visit and see folks I haven't seen in a long while and introduce them to my baby boy!

Well thanks for reading Gussers blog and taking the time to check in on us and see how we are all doing! Goodnight until next time! :)

Love,

Justin, Danielle and Gus